Here are your science education resources and announcements for May 8 - 21, 2014 provided by the Michigan Science Matters Network. Please forward this eBlast on to other science educators in your school/district. If you have questions or comments, please forward them to:

If you have not joined the NSTA Learning Center yet, you can have an invitation to join sent directly to you, just send an email to bydlowd@resa.net and an invitation will be sent directly to you.

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2b. What is Science Matters?

Science Matters is an initiative from the National Science Teachers Association that promotes quality science education, resources, and professional development opportunities. Each state has a Science Matters Coordinator whose primary role is to be the point of contact for distribution of science resources and opportunities to the state network. Your state coordinator is David Bydlowski. You can contact him at: bydlowd@resa.net

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Next Generation Science Standards

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3a. Adoption Update

States That Have Officially Adopted NGSS:

Rhode Island

Kentucky

Kansas

Maryland

Vermont

California

Delaware

Washington

District of Columbia

Nevada

Oregon

Illinois

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3b. New Tool Released to Help Educators Assess Alignment of Materials to NGSS

To aid the search for resources that support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), NSTA and Achieve have been working with science educators across the country to develop a rubric to determine if resources address the letter and spirit of the standards. The Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Rubric for science provides criteria for measuring the alignment and overall quality of lessons and units with respect to the NGSS. The purpose is to provide constructive criterion-based feedback to developers, review existing instructional materials to determine what revisions are needed, and identify exemplars/models to be used by teachers.

by Joe Krajcik, professor of science education and director for the CREATE for STEM Institute at Michigan State University. Krajcik was one of several educators who helped write the NGSS and develop the EQuIP Rubric for Science. NSTA has formed a group of 55 curators who are using the rubric to identify resources that support the standards. These resources will be one of many features of the NGSS@NSTA Hub, a new digital destination to support educators' implementation of the NGSS.

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Michigan Department of Education

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4a. Michigan Winners in the 2013 – 2014 eCYBERMISSION Competition

Nearly 300 student teams from across the country were named state winners in the12th annual eCYBERMISSION competition, one of several science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives offered by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). This year's competition had 15,859 students participating, and their projects covered topics such as national security and safety, energy conservation, and health and nutrition in schools. Here is a list of the Michigan winners:

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at:

Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

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5b. NASA MUREP Scholarship

NASA's Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency's mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at:

Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

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5c. Great American Backyard Campout – Get Kids Outside!

Great American Backyard Campout® is a part of National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to help inspire Americans to protect wildlife, including a three-year campaign to get 10 million kids to spend regular outdoor time in nature.

Since 2005, thousands of people from across the nation have come together the fourth Saturday of June to participate in the Great American Backyard Campout in support of Great Outdoors Month. This annual nationwide event is designed to promote the benefits of camping as a way to connect people with nature and support NWF’s efforts to get kids outdoors. Learn more at:

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) offers a variety of fun and friendly competitions to engage your students in the pleasures of science beyond the curriculum. Please visit: http://www.nsta.org/about/competitions.aspx

The deadline is the last day of the month: May, June, September, October and November, 2014.

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6b. Special Opportunity ($15,000) for a Superb Science Teacher – NEA Teachers Only

SCIENCE MASTER TEACHER PROJECT -- The NEA has partnered with BetterLesson(BL) to launch a Science Master Teacher Project for the 2014-2015 school year. BL is currently looking for science teachers who:

have a passion for the Next Generation Science Standards

are NEA members ready to “share what works” in their classrooms

want to share their great lessons next year and receive $15,000 for their work

Michigan educators can spend a week working in Michigan’s fields and forests while learning about fish, wildlife and more at the DNR’s 2014 Academy of Natural Resources (ANR). Wildlife and fisheries biologists, foresters and even conservation officers are all on hand July 13th through 18th to show teachers the methods in which Michigan’s natural resources are managed and protected. ANR is convened at the DNR’s Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center on Higgins Lake.

Thanks to generous scholarships by the Novi Chapter of Safari Club International, teachers can participate for only $250, which includes 15 meals, five nights lodging and all instruction and materials. ANR has been offered to Michigan educators since 2008.

Other classes offered at ANR include MEECS Week (training in Michigan’s Environmental Education Curriculum Support) and STEM From Nature. For more information about the 2014 ANR program check out the webpage at: www.michigan.gov/anr

University Credit through Ferris State University and SCECHs are also available at ANR.

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6d. Michigan Green Chemistry Awards

The DEQ has opened nominations for the sixth annual Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s Awards.

The Governor’s Awards recognize advances that incorporate the principles of green chemistry into design, manufacturing, or use of chemicals and materials. The awards honor innovative efforts to design, implement, and promote safer and more sustainable chemicals, processes, and products.

Awards are open to individuals, groups, and organizations, both non-profit and for profit. Entries must be sent no later than July 18, 2014. The awards will be presented at the 2014 Michigan Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, which will take place this fall at Michigan State University.

The program was established by the Michigan Green Chemistry Roundtable to celebrate innovation in Michigan, with fifteen winners having been presented with an award in the first five years of the program.

To find a copy of the nomination packet, examples of past award winners’ projects, or more information on the Michigan Green Chemistry Program, visit the DEQ Web site at:

You may also contact Mr. Chris Affeldt, 517-284-6851, affeldtc@michigan.gov.

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6e. Upcoming Deadlines

Would you like a complete list of grants that has been provided by the National Science Teachers Association? NSTA has put these grant and their deadlines in an easy to follow calendar. It includes: deadline date, description, category, and grade level. To view this list, please visit:http://www.nsta.org/publications/calendar/

The fields are bursting with song and the woods are teeming with feathery creatures—or you might say feathery question marks. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology four-part Inside Birding video series will walk you through the four basic keys to identifying any bird: Size & Shape, Color Pattern, Behavior, and Habitat. The videos take you out in the field with Chris Wood and Jessie Barry, two members of Team Sapsucker for clear, fun, one-on-one instruction. Please visit:

The visualization, comprised of imagery from the geostationary satellites of EUMETSAT, NOAA and the JMA, shows an entire year of weather across the globe during 2013, with commentary from Mark Higgins, Training Officer at EUMETSAT. Please visit:

SciGirls, primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, has developed a series of public television programs highlighting the processes of science and engineering and offers girls a glimpse of exciting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career possibilities. Please visit:

NOVA Labs is a new digital platform where "citizen scientists" can actively participate in the scientific process. From predicting solar storms and designing renewable energy systems to tracking cloud movements and learning cybersecurity strategies, NOVA Labs participants can take part in real-world investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and sharing the same data that scientists use. Please visit:

2014 marks the centennial anniversary of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. To help remember the Passenger Pigeon, people are folding origami pigeons to recreate the great flocks of 100 years ago. Join in at:

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science offers free, 60-minute webinars that provide short, interactive sessions with convenient online access to experts that will help you build your science content and teaching skills. Participate on your own or meet as a group with your colleagues. Past webinars include “NGSS: An Informal Conversation,” “Rigor and Inquiry,” “Nonfiction Text: Making a Claim for Evidence-based Inquiry,” “Concept-based Curriculum & Instruction,” “Teaching with Nonfiction Text” and more. Check the website for upcoming webinars. All past webinars are archived. Please visit:

9a. Great Opportunity for Chemistry Teachers to Attend the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE), sponsored by the American Chemical Society, Division of Chemical Education is coming to Grand Valley State University from August 3 – 7, 2014. It is a wonderful opportunity for local and regional high school chemistry teachers to attend the largest gathering of chemical educators in the world. It is designed for secondary school chemistry teachers and college chemistry instructors and emphasizes the improvement of chemistry education at all levels.

The BCCE offers teachers an opportunity to network and interact with other chemistry educators (secondary school science teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, and post-secondary chemistry faculty) and to stimulate productive and innovative ideas. Among the 102 workshops and 77 symposia are 19 workshops and 5 symposia, with up to 50 papers especially designed for high school teachers. Topics include Advanced Placement Chemistry, chemical demonstrations, using social networks to teach chemistry, improving labs, technology in secondary education, and Next Generation Science Standards. We have submitted application to have selected sessions approved for State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) and are awaiting approval.

In addition, teachers attending BCCE will be invited to the initial launch of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) during Fall 2014, just in time for back to school. The American Chemical Society will offer a Birds of a Feather (BOAF) session for teachers to learn about the goals and features of this new initiative.

Early registration fees for high school teachers have been set at $175 (register from March 3 – June 1, 2014). This rate reflects a savings of $125 from the regular fees and is an incentive to encourage secondary teachers to join us. On-campus housing rates start at $45/night. Information about the conference, including the full program and the registration process is available at:

The application deadline for is May 15, 2014, and applicants will be notified about their acceptance no later than May 23, 2014. If you have questions or would like additional information about the workshop, please contact Prof. Smith at eebsmith@umich.edu.

GENES & GENOMES WORKSHOP (July 16, 2014) Science and society are now firmly in the era of the genome. It is now relatively easy to determine the complete DNA sequence of any individual of an organism in just a few days, a development that has revolutionized the life sciences, brought us new tools for altering the foods we eat, and transformed medicine. Indeed, the time is quickly approaching when determining a medical patient's complete genome will be as easy as a simple blood test is today. This may lead to "genomic medicine"--targeting drugs and treatment toward one genetic makeup. These advances bring great promise for improving lives but also raise serious privacy and ethical issues. It is critical that high school students gain a basic understanding of both gene and genomic structure so that they will become informed citizens in the future.

Using a mixture of lectures and computer-based activities, this workshop will provide an overview of the basic structure of genes and genomes (including nuclear and organellar genomes) to aid high school biology teachers in enhancing related activities in their own classes. Teachers will also gain experience with basic bioinformatics tools.

Participants must bring a laptop (not a tablet). If you do not have access to a laptop, please indicate in the "other comments or concerns" section so arrangements can be made. Participants will be provided lunch and receive a $100 stipend for full attendance. Please list any dietary considerations in the "other comments or concerns" section. Limited to 15 participants.

The workshop will end with a discussion of strategies for incorporating genomic activities into the curriculum and ways that knowledge of genes and genomes can inform other discussions in the classroom (e.g., ethical dilemmas).

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, and NanoRacks announce Mission 7 to the International Space Station. This STEM education opportunity immerses grade 5-14 students across a community in an authentic, high visibility research experience, where student teams design and propose real microgravity experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. The program nurtures ownership in learning, critical thinking, problem solving, navigation of an interdisciplinary landscape, and communication skills – all reflective of the Next Generation Science Standards, and reflective of the skills needed by professional scientists and engineers, and the skills desired by 21st century employers.

Each participating community will be provided a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single experiment, and all launch services to fly it to Space Station in Spring 2015, and return is safely to Earth for student harvesting and analysis. A 9-week experiment design competition in each community, held September through November 2014, and engaging typically 300 students, allows student teams to design and formally propose real experiments vying for their community's reserved mini-lab on Space Station. A formal 2-step proposal review process, mirroring professional review, will determine the community’s flight experiment. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a Learning Community Model for STEM education. This includes a local art and design competition for a Mission Patch to accompany the flight experiment to Space Station. SSEP therefore provides for a community-wide STEAM experience.

TIME CRITICAL: all interested communities are asked to inquire by May 30, 2014; schools and districts need to assess interest with their staff and, if appropriate, move forward with an Implementation Plan. Communities must be aboard by September 3, 2014, for a 9-week experiment design phase September 8 to November 7, 2014, and flight experiment selection by December 17, 2014. Flight of the selected experiment to ISS is expected in Spring 2015.

PBS KIDS has announced the launch of an all-new web-original property, PLUM LANDING, a cross-platform, digital adventure designed to engage 6- to 9-year olds in environmental science by using animated and live-action videos, hands-on activities, web games and an interactive mobile app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch: Plum’s Photo Hunt. All of the PLUM LANDING resources, including standards-based tools for educators, are offered for free.

Produced by WGBH, PLUM LANDING follows the adventures of Plum, a video game designer from the desolate Planet Blorb, who longs to experience nature. To realize this goal, Plum commandeers a space ship, zooms down to earth, befriends five eager kids—Clem, Oliver, Gabi, Brad, and Cooper—and launches them on missions as diverse as “find a lake in the desert!” and “search for a cow that lives under water!” Zeroing in on four ecosystems—the Australian desert, the mangroves of Belize, the Canadian Rockies and the jungles of Borneo—Plum discovers many fascinating, puzzling and profound things about Earth and uses what she learns to create explorer games for 6- to 9-year olds. On the PLUM LANDING website, kids can play these games and explore each of these exotic ecosystems. Plum also encourages kids to investigate their own worlds with Plum’s Photo Hunt App. Please visit:

Q: What did one cell say to his sister cell, when she stepped on his toe?

A: Hey, get off “mitosis!”

Q: What’s the matter?

A: I don’t know, what’s “stomata” with you?

All this biology is going in one ear and out the other. It is like digestion without absorption.

Q: If H2O is the formula for water, what is the formula for ice?

A: H2O cubed.

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14. April Contest Winners

In March, we gave away two $10 Starbuck’s gift cards. Here is a list of the winners:

Julie Luehmann, Westwood High School – Ishpeming, MI

Elizabeth LaLone, Great Lakes Academy – Pontiac, MI

If you didn’t win, try again this month. Thanks to everyone for being part of the Michigan Science Matters Network.

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15. May Contest – Win a $10 Starbucks Gift Card

This month we have three great prizes to give away. The prizes are 3 - $10 Starbucks Gift Cards.

To win one of these prizes, send an email to:

David Bydlowski

bydlowd@resa.net

State Coordinator for the Michigan Science Matters Network

You MUST INCLUDE your name AND mailing address AND your school name/district. (If you want the card, sent to your home, please provide your home address.)

You may only enter once and only one entry per email address. Respondents 2, 12, and 22 will receive a prize. We will post all of the winners in our next E-Blast. Good luck to you and thank you for being part of the Michigan Science Matters Network.

If you don’t win, try again next month. Thanks to everyone for being part of the Michigan Science Matters Network.

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